MLB Player News

Heineman was optioned to San Francisco's alternate camp site Thursday, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Heineman's move to the team's satellite camp corresponds with top prospect Joey Bart's move to the majors. The backstop appeared in 13 games during his time with the Giants and hit .195 with a 4:6 BB:K.

Narvaez is not starting Thursday against the Twins.

Narvaez, who is hitting just .133 though 16 games this season, will sit for a second straight game as Manny Pina picks up another start behind the dish in his stead.

Jeffers' contract was purchased by the Twins on Thursday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

The Twins were in need of catching depth after Mitch Garver (side) was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday. Jeffers will start Thursday's contest against the Brewers and bat ninth as he'll make his major-league debut. While Alex Avila should have the slight edge for playing time while Garver is sidelined, Jeffers could see a fair amount of time behind the plate in the coming days.

Garver was placed on the 10-day injured list with a low-grade right intercostal strain Thursday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

Garver exited Wednesday's game against the Brewers with a right side injury, and the injury is apparently relatively serious since he'll be sidelined for at least 10 days. It's unclear whether he'll be able to return after spending the minimum amount of time on the injured list. Ryan Jeffers' contract was selected by the Twins in a corresponding move, and he'll start behind the dish Thursday.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Realmuto will head to the bench for the second half of Thursday's twin bill after going hitless in the first game. Andrew Knapp is starting at catcher and hitting eighth in Game 2.

Perez is not starting Thursday against the Pirates.

Perez, who returned from the injured list earlier in the week, will head to the bench after starting the past two games and going 0-for-6 with a walk and two strikeouts. Beau Taylor is starting behind the dish Thursday.

The Giants called up Bart from their alternate training site ahead of Thursday's game against the Angels.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 first-year player draft and one of the top catching prospects in all of baseball, Bart will make the jump to the majors with less than 100 plate appearances of Double-A experience under his belt. Despite his lack of high-level experience, the 23-year-old should prove to be an immediate upgrade over the Giants' current backstop tandem of Chadwick Tromp (.521 OPS) and Tyler Heineman (.503 OPS). Expect Bart to immediately settle into an everyday role behind the dish with San Francisco, and the Giants could look to keep his bat in the lineup by deploying him as a designated hitter on his non-catching days. Bart slashed .284/.343/.542 with 29 home runs in 130 games over his two seasons in the minors.

The Rockies reinstated Diaz (not injury related) from the restricted list Thursday, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.

Colorado had moved Diaz to the restricted list Monday after he broke COVID-19-related protocols, but his reinstatement suggests he's now made amends for the transgression. Diaz is expected to step back in as the primary backup to top catcher Tony Wolters.

Grandal (back) is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Grandal will sit for the third day in a row while he deals with lower-back stiffness. The White Sox continue to view Grandal's injury as a day-to-day situation, so the club is seemingly hopeful he'll check back into the starting nine for this weekend's series with the Cubs. James McCann will catch for Lucas Giolito in the series finale against Detroit.

Jansen is out of the lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Phillies.

The Blue Jays are presumably saving Jansen for the second game of the doubleheader, when he'll be catching for starting pitcher Trent Thornton (elbow). Reese McGuire will catch for Chase Anderson in the front end of the twin bill.